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Polygamy in the House Mouse

Even though the behavior of the house mouse is not rigid, it is most commonly polygamous in nature, and generally shows behaviors characteristic of mate-defense polygyny. This translates to highly territorial males with less agonistic females. The result of such behavior is communal nursing of young within cooperative breeding groups, usually of related females, showing increased reproductive success.[1] Forming these groups of related females provides another advantage, leading to lower numbers of infanticide. [2] The benefit of polyandrous behavior within female house mice has also been studied. Under identical copulation frequency, females who practice polyandrous behavior produce pups with higher survival rates than females who practice monogamous behavior.[3]

Other consequences of the polygamous nature of the house mouse are also observed, some being behavioral and some evolutionary. One consequence is the paternal investment, which is shown to be lower than the paternal investment of mice that practice monogamous behavior. Male house mice spend less time alone with pups and are less likely and slower to retrieve lost pups than males of monogamous mice. In contrast, the maternal investment is similar between house mice and monogamous mice.[4] Evolutionary consequences that result from polygamy have been studied extensively as well. The polyandrous behavior of female house mice promotes sperm competition, which affects both male and female fitness. The fitness of females increases in polygamous lines due to increased litter size. Male fitness increases in parallel with increased sperm quality that arises from this competition, meaning they evolve faster sperm, more motile sperm, and higher numbers of sperm.[5] Male mating behavior is also affected in response to the practice of polygamous behavior. Compared to monogamous house mice, polygamous house mice are shown to mate for longer periods of time, allowing for an increase in both the transfer of sperm and paternity success, which in turn increases male fitness.[6]

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If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me on my talk page. Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 19:18, 1 September 2015 (UTC)

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